Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Encyclopedia
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (often simply referred to as Big Rigs) is a 2003 third-person racing
video game developed by Stellar Stone
and published by Activision Value
for Microsoft Windows
PC system
s; in 2004, GameMill Publishing
was instead chosen to distribute copies of the title. The game was released only in North America.
Although the packaging of Big Rigs states that the main objective of the game is to race their Big Rig
to safety in order to deliver illegal cargo being carried by the vessel, while avoiding the local police force, in actuality, there are no police in the game, and no such objectives are presented within the game itself. Much of the game instead centers on the player racing their truck against fellow drivers to the finish line; however, the player's computer-controlled opponent vehicles have no AI
and never move from the starting position. In addition, due to a lack of collision detection
, there are no obstacles to negotiate within the game, and the laws of physics can be violated frequently.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing received unanimously negative reviews; much of the criticism for the game was directed at a lack of collision detection, frequent bugs, its visuals, and severe lack of functionality. As a result, the title is currently regarded as one of the worst video games of all-time. Despite these criticisms, the game sold fairly well, selling nearly 20,000 copies in total, as well as gaining a cult following on the internet.
The packaging
of Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing states that the objective of the game is for the player to "[...] deliver illegal cargo, with cops
chasing [them]"; however, in actuality, there are no police in the game or, seemingly, any objectives to complete. The packaging also states that the player must "race trucks across the country" while delivering such cargo; however, although computer-controlled opponent vehicles do indeed appear in the game, they have no artificial intelligence
, and never move from their starting position.
There are technically no obstacles for the player to negotiate in Big Rigs, as the truck may freely be driven on and off roads without any loss of traction, up or down 90° slopes with no loss or gain of speed, through structures such as buildings and trees
, simply falling right through bridge
s, and even out of the boundaries of the map into an endless grey void. When the player's vehicle is put into reverse, it can accelerate indefinitely, but the truck will halt instantly when the reverse key is released.
Though there appear to be five courses from which to choose, only four are playable. One of the maps, titled "Nightride", does not function and selecting it simply crashes
or quits the game. Upon completion of the race, the game displays a large three-handled trophy
and the now infamous text "YOU'RE WINNER !" The game occasionally fails to distinguish between whether the player is starting or finishing the race when they pass through the starting point, and so this congratulatory screen may appear within seconds of starting a game, ending the race before it even begins.
Stellar Stone
released a patch that addressed some of the game's complaints. With the patch, the opponent vehicles participate in the race, but stop before they reach the finish line, making the game still impossible to lose. Nightride, the non-functional track, was replaced with an exact mirror image of the first track, Devil Passage 1. Some versions of the patch replaced the "YOU'RE WINNER !" text with "YOU WIN !". Sound effects were also added, and later copies shipped with the patch by default. However, no effort was made to alter the physics of the game, and other common complaints were not addressed.
and programmed in Ukraine
by California-based company Stellar Stone; however, Sergey Titov was incorrectly credited as lead programmer
due to his involvement in creating and licensing his proprietary
engine to Stellar Stone via his company TS Group Entertainment.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing received extremely negative reviews from critics, and has been frequently listed among the worst video games of all-time. It garnered an 8 out of 100 score on Metacritic
, only with the scores higher than 0 being 1 out of 10, which were given by websites that did not have a zero-score, giving it the lowest score of any game on Metacritic, as well as an average score of 3.83% on GameRankings, making it the number one "All-Time Worst" video game on the website.
Matt Wadleigh of Thunderbolt Games
stated "I wish I could think of some redeeming factors for [Big Rigs], but there simply aren't any", rating the game a score of 1/10. It was also featured on the X-Play
"Games You Should Never Buy" segment where series co-host Morgan Webb
described Big Rigs as "the worst game ever made," and refused to even rate it as their 1/5 rating system never features a zero score. Netjak gave the game 0.0, commenting that a preferable negative score was not given because the design of the site wouldn't let the reviewer do so. Alex Navarro of GameSpot
declared that Big Rigs is "as bad as your mind will allow you to comprehend"; later in his review, Navarro added, "Please do not play this game. We cannot stress this enough." Navarro's video review has no narration whatsoever; it consists of in-game footage interspersed with wider shots showing Navarro staring in disbelief, crying, beating his head on a desk and finally exiting the building and lying down in the middle of an alley in disgust. In the Halloween
video Frightfully Bad Games, Navarro stated, "This game received the lowest score in the history of GameSpot, a 1.0 (Abysmal). And by lowest, I mean it can't go any lower. We don't hand out zeros, but maybe we should have for Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing."
Big Rigs has developed a reputation for its poor quality; in GameSpot's "Best and Worst of 2004" awards, Big Rigs was given the "Flat-out Worst Game" award, despite the fact that the game was actually released in 2003. They said that they would use the "YOU'RE WINNER !" trophy as a symbol for the 'Flat-Out Worst Game' award from then on, but by 2005, a more generic logo was used. In 2009, the game was nominated for Worst Video Game of the Decade at the 2009 SAGY Awards by ScrewAttack
, losing to Sonic the Hedgehog. In Skate 3
for the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
, the player can obtain an achievement or trophy entitled "You're Winner" if he or she wins an online match, a reference to Big Rigs "YOU'RE WINNER !" trophy. Actual sales figures for the game are unknown, although GameSpot has stated that "perhaps most disgusting of all is that this game actually sold copies. More copies, in fact, than more than half of our finalists in the Best Game No One Played category", the criteria for which is selling less than 20,000 copies of the game.
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
video game developed by Stellar Stone
Stellar Stone
Stellar Stone was a video game developer founded in 2000 and based in Santa Monica, California. The company published their first game, Taxi Racer, in 2000, but were best-known for developing Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing, a 2003 video game considered to be one of the worst games ever...
and published by Activision Value
Activision Value
Activision Value Publishing, Inc. is an American computer and video game company, a merger of Activision, Expert Software and Head Games Publishing....
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC system
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s; in 2004, GameMill Publishing
GameMill Publishing
GameMill Publishing is a publisher of games aimed at children and "casual" audiences.GameMill Publishing publishes puzzle and casual games including the Hidden Mysteries and Lost Secrets Brands. In 2008 GameMill worked with Dairy Queen to launch a time management game "DQ Tycoon" for the PC and...
was instead chosen to distribute copies of the title. The game was released only in North America.
Although the packaging of Big Rigs states that the main objective of the game is to race their Big Rig
Big Rig
Big Rig was a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area fronted by singer/songwriter Jesse Michaels. Michaels performed with the group after the breakup of his previous project, Operation Ivy, and before forming the band Common Rider....
to safety in order to deliver illegal cargo being carried by the vessel, while avoiding the local police force, in actuality, there are no police in the game, and no such objectives are presented within the game itself. Much of the game instead centers on the player racing their truck against fellow drivers to the finish line; however, the player's computer-controlled opponent vehicles have no AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and never move from the starting position. In addition, due to a lack of collision detection
Collision detection
Collision detection typically refers to the computational problem of detecting the intersection of two or more objects. While the topic is most often associated with its use in video games and other physical simulations, it also has applications in robotics...
, there are no obstacles to negotiate within the game, and the laws of physics can be violated frequently.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing received unanimously negative reviews; much of the criticism for the game was directed at a lack of collision detection, frequent bugs, its visuals, and severe lack of functionality. As a result, the title is currently regarded as one of the worst video games of all-time. Despite these criticisms, the game sold fairly well, selling nearly 20,000 copies in total, as well as gaining a cult following on the internet.
Gameplay
Video game packaging
Video game packaging refers to the physical storage of the contents of a computer or video game, both for safekeeping and shop display. In the past, a number of materials and packaging designs were used, mostly paperboard or plastic...
of Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing states that the objective of the game is for the player to "[...] deliver illegal cargo, with cops
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
chasing [them]"; however, in actuality, there are no police in the game or, seemingly, any objectives to complete. The packaging also states that the player must "race trucks across the country" while delivering such cargo; however, although computer-controlled opponent vehicles do indeed appear in the game, they have no artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, and never move from their starting position.
There are technically no obstacles for the player to negotiate in Big Rigs, as the truck may freely be driven on and off roads without any loss of traction, up or down 90° slopes with no loss or gain of speed, through structures such as buildings and trees
Collision detection
Collision detection typically refers to the computational problem of detecting the intersection of two or more objects. While the topic is most often associated with its use in video games and other physical simulations, it also has applications in robotics...
, simply falling right through bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s, and even out of the boundaries of the map into an endless grey void. When the player's vehicle is put into reverse, it can accelerate indefinitely, but the truck will halt instantly when the reverse key is released.
Though there appear to be five courses from which to choose, only four are playable. One of the maps, titled "Nightride", does not function and selecting it simply crashes
Crash (computing)
A crash in computing is a condition where a computer or a program, either an application or part of the operating system, ceases to function properly, often exiting after encountering errors. Often the offending program may appear to freeze or hang until a crash reporting service documents...
or quits the game. Upon completion of the race, the game displays a large three-handled trophy
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
and the now infamous text "YOU'RE WINNER !" The game occasionally fails to distinguish between whether the player is starting or finishing the race when they pass through the starting point, and so this congratulatory screen may appear within seconds of starting a game, ending the race before it even begins.
Stellar Stone
Stellar Stone
Stellar Stone was a video game developer founded in 2000 and based in Santa Monica, California. The company published their first game, Taxi Racer, in 2000, but were best-known for developing Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing, a 2003 video game considered to be one of the worst games ever...
released a patch that addressed some of the game's complaints. With the patch, the opponent vehicles participate in the race, but stop before they reach the finish line, making the game still impossible to lose. Nightride, the non-functional track, was replaced with an exact mirror image of the first track, Devil Passage 1. Some versions of the patch replaced the "YOU'RE WINNER !" text with "YOU WIN !". Sound effects were also added, and later copies shipped with the patch by default. However, no effort was made to alter the physics of the game, and other common complaints were not addressed.
Development
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing was developedVideo game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and programmed in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
by California-based company Stellar Stone; however, Sergey Titov was incorrectly credited as lead programmer
Lead programmer
A lead programmer is a software engineer in charge of one or more software projects. Alternative titles include Development Lead, Technical Lead, Senior Software Engineer, Software Design Engineer Lead , Software Manager, or Senior Applications Developer...
due to his involvement in creating and licensing his proprietary
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
engine to Stellar Stone via his company TS Group Entertainment.
Russian Version
Both Big Rigs and Midnight Race Club: Supercharged! were originally intended to be released as one game; however, GameMill Publishing decided to split the project in two early on in production. Midnight Race Club: Supercharged! was released in 2004 in Russia and has not had a US release. Both games were released in their pre-alpha stage. The reason for the splitting is unclear; Titov speculates it was to increase sales.Reception
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing received extremely negative reviews from critics, and has been frequently listed among the worst video games of all-time. It garnered an 8 out of 100 score on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, only with the scores higher than 0 being 1 out of 10, which were given by websites that did not have a zero-score, giving it the lowest score of any game on Metacritic, as well as an average score of 3.83% on GameRankings, making it the number one "All-Time Worst" video game on the website.
Matt Wadleigh of Thunderbolt Games
Thunderbolt (website)
Thunderbolt is an independent videogames website that was launched on November 20, 2000 by Philip Morton . Thunderbolt publishes reviews, previews and features covering the major gaming platforms, particularly consoles...
stated "I wish I could think of some redeeming factors for [Big Rigs], but there simply aren't any", rating the game a score of 1/10. It was also featured on the X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
"Games You Should Never Buy" segment where series co-host Morgan Webb
Morgan Webb
Morgan Ailis Webb is a co-host and senior segment producer of the G4 show X-Play, and host of the show G4 Underground...
described Big Rigs as "the worst game ever made," and refused to even rate it as their 1/5 rating system never features a zero score. Netjak gave the game 0.0, commenting that a preferable negative score was not given because the design of the site wouldn't let the reviewer do so. Alex Navarro of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
declared that Big Rigs is "as bad as your mind will allow you to comprehend"; later in his review, Navarro added, "Please do not play this game. We cannot stress this enough." Navarro's video review has no narration whatsoever; it consists of in-game footage interspersed with wider shots showing Navarro staring in disbelief, crying, beating his head on a desk and finally exiting the building and lying down in the middle of an alley in disgust. In the Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
video Frightfully Bad Games, Navarro stated, "This game received the lowest score in the history of GameSpot, a 1.0 (Abysmal). And by lowest, I mean it can't go any lower. We don't hand out zeros, but maybe we should have for Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing."
Big Rigs has developed a reputation for its poor quality; in GameSpot's "Best and Worst of 2004" awards, Big Rigs was given the "Flat-out Worst Game" award, despite the fact that the game was actually released in 2003. They said that they would use the "YOU'RE WINNER !" trophy as a symbol for the 'Flat-Out Worst Game' award from then on, but by 2005, a more generic logo was used. In 2009, the game was nominated for Worst Video Game of the Decade at the 2009 SAGY Awards by ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
, losing to Sonic the Hedgehog. In Skate 3
Skate 3
Skate 3 is the third installment in the Skate series of video games, developed by EA Black Box, published by Electronic Arts and was released on May 11, 2010. It is a sequel to the 2009 game Skate 2. The player moves to Port Carverton for Skate 3...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, the player can obtain an achievement or trophy entitled "You're Winner" if he or she wins an online match, a reference to Big Rigs "YOU'RE WINNER !" trophy. Actual sales figures for the game are unknown, although GameSpot has stated that "perhaps most disgusting of all is that this game actually sold copies. More copies, in fact, than more than half of our finalists in the Best Game No One Played category", the criteria for which is selling less than 20,000 copies of the game.